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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - If this all spills out right, the season-ending LPGA Playoffs at the ADT could be the largest jackpot finish in women's golf in more than financial terms.
If the drama keeps playing out this way, we could be treated to more than the fun of seeing who wins the $1 million first-place check Nov. 16-19 at Trump International in West Palm Beach. It's a virtual winner-take-all format ruthlessly boiled down to a final eight women on the last day.
The radically new 32-player format will be pared down to 16 players after two rounds and eight after three.
While the winner takes home that $1 million check, the largest in the history of women's golf, the runner-up takes home $100,000 and the third-place finisher only $20,500.
It's possible somebody could be lining up a final putt for $1 million with more than the money-winning title at stake. For the first time in a decade somebody other than Annika Sorenstam and Karrie Webb has a chance to win the Rolex Player of the Year Award.
In a captivating race for the title, Lorena Ochoa leads the Rolex Player of the Year points list with Webb second, Sorenstam third and Cristie Kerr fourth.
They all have a chance to win this tightly bunched race with six tournaments left.
While Sorenstam is among players who have reservations about skewing the money list with such a giant payoff, the buzz the format is already generating on tour changes the nature of the event.
"It is obviously going to be very exciting for everyone," Sorenstam said. "But, having said that, Player of the Year right now is probably the factor that decides who has played the best all year rather than the money list, which is the way we used to measure our seasons."
The next largest first-place check on the LPGA Tour is $560,000 at the U.S. Women's Open. First-place checks on the LPGA Tour average around $200,000.
"So a win at the ADT is almost equal to four to five wins," Sorenstam said. "I think everyone is going to ask the question: Is that the way it should be?"
Still, Sorenstam, who at one time suggested only half the first-place ADT prize should count toward the money list, is willing to give the new format a chance.
"I definitely hope it is going to be a success," Sorenstam said. "Let us see how it turns out. Let us see if it gets exciting and let us see if it's a way to decide who has played well this season."
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(c) 2006 South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Mclatchy-Tribune News Service.
